Our St. Louis Critics
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BWW Reviews: Max & Louie Productions' Splendid MRS. MANNERLY
There's something about playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's writing style that I can connect with. Maybe it's the fact that he peppers his dialog with so many references to 1960's era television fare that I can't help but be drawn back to my own childhood. Sure, I spent a lot of time outdoors, but there we...
BWW Reviews: The St. Louis Actors' Studio Hilarious and Moving Production of TALKING HEADS
TALKING HEADS started life as a series of BBC television monologues before it became a play (actually a couple of them), and if you're expecting a rather static work you'll be pleasantly surprised by these compelling, poignant, and sometimes hilarious vignettes. Author Alan Bennett (as both writer a...
BWW Reviews: The New Jewish Theatre's Giddy Delight of SCHLEMIEL THE FIRST
SCHLEMIEL THE FIRST is a giddy delight, with songs and laughs barreling along at a frenetic pace. Based on the play by Isaac Bashevis Singer (conceived and adapted by Robert Brustein), this Klezmer musical (composed by Hankus Netsky and Zalmen Miotek, with lyrics by Arnold Weinstein) is guaranteed f...
BWW Reviews: HotCity Theatre's Intriguing Production of MAPLE AND VINE
With his work, MAPLE AND VINE, playwright Jordan Harrison presents an interesting choice for the modern family struggling to cope with the modern world. They are given a chance to let go of all their connections to the information highway and head back in time to 1955. For some, this is the opportun...
BWW Reviews: Black Rep's Premiere Production of SMASH/HIT!
I'm still not sure exactly how I feel about the Black Rep's latest premiere production, SMASH/HIT!, although there is certainly a lot of potential to the story, and various elements that make up the plot, it's not completely cohesive. There's an awful lot to digest here in this drama that contains m...
BWW Reviews: Rockin' Good Time at the Fox with MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
It's true that on December 4, 1956, Sun Records was host to an incredible meeting of four gentleman (Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis) who would go on to lay the foundation for Rock 'n' Roll, but a listen to the actual recording made that day prove that it was a much simp...
BWW Reviews: St. Louis Actors' Studio's Terrific WAITING FOR GODOT
I'm a big fan of the St. Louis Actors' Studio because they always seem to manage to mix the old with the new in intriguing fashion during their theme based seasons, and you can wind up catching a classic like WAITING FOR GODOT along the way. It's always a fun and engaging ride no matter what they of...
BWW Reviews: Mustard Seed Theatre's Outstanding Production of JANE EYRE
Playwright Julie Beckman does wonderful work in adapting Charlotte Bronte's novel, JANE EYRE, for the stage. It's so literate that the characters even voice their thoughts, giving way at times to some much needed humor for this sad, but hopeful Gothic tale of loss and romance. Mustard Seed Theatre's...
BWW Reviews: Stray Dog Theatre Continues Stellar Season with GYPSY
GYPSY is the penultimate stage mother musical, but it's also a look at the decline of vaudeville and the rise of burlesque during the depression, and it's ultimately a look at how the famous stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee, made her debut in show business. Jules Styne (composer), Stephen Sondheim (lyricist...
BWW Reviews: The New Jewish Theatre's Fascinating Production of CONVICTION
Oren Neeman's CONVICTION, as translated and adapted by actor/writer Ami Dayan, is a brilliant tour de force. This tale, told in historical flashbacks, is an intriguing piece that focuses our attention on a priest who forsakes his vows to return to the roots of his true faith and be with the woman he...
BWW Reviews: The Black Rep's Powerful Production of THE WHIPPING MAN
THE WHIPPING MAN is a fascinating and intriguing look at religion and the aftereffects of emancipation that's set in the days following the end of the Civil War. It examines a subject unfamiliar to most, and that's the fact that there were slaves on plantations that were raised in the Jewish faith. ...
BWW Review: The Rep's Moody and Engaging Production of DOUBLE INDEMNITY
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis closes their season with a bang, literally, presenting a dramatically atmospheric production of novelist James M. Cain's classic work, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (lovingly adapted by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright). It's a script that overflows with double entendres, ...
BWW Review: Stunning and Touching WAR HORSE Plays the Fox Theatre
Nick Stafford's adaptation of the novel, WAR HORSE, by Michael Morpurgo is an awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping spectacle brought to life by the Handspring Puppet Company. It's a fascinating and heart-wrenching tale that follows a horse named Joey and a boy named Albert, who will go to great lengths, e...
BWW Reviews: The Rep's Sizzling Production of VENUS IN FUR
VENUS IN FUR is currently being presented in the Studio Theatre by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and it's an erotically-charged, sizzling presentation that's powered by incisive direction and exceptional performances. I can't speak highly enough of this smoldering tale. It unfolds with a myria...
BWW Reviews: St. Louis Actors' Studio's Premiere of DAY OF THE DOG
Playwright Daniel Damiano's DAY OF THE DOG is a quirky little dramatic comedy that explores a fractured family's dysfunction through their relationship with an aggressive canine. There are a number of good laughs, and a lot of therapeutic interactions, that occur as this premiere production by the S...
BWW Reviews: Dramatic License Production's Comical Farce BOEING,BOEING
Playwright Marc Camoletti's BOEING, BOEING (translated by Beverly Cross) has had its share of success over the years, running for nearly 20 years in Paris, and being turned into a Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis film in 1965, before being revived on Broadway in 2008. Now, Dramatic License Productions is...
BWW Reviews: New Line Theatre's Powerful Production of NEXT TO NORMAL
I remember seeing NEXT TO NORMAL at the Fox Theatre a while back and being impressed by the show, especially since so many things that happened to the lead character were/are taking place in my own life. But, New Line Theatre, for me, sets the local standard for musical theatre in our burgeoning art...
BWW Review: Hilarious THE BOOK OF MORMON at the Fox Theatre
It would be easy to be either immediately won over by the hype surrounding this show before ever seeing it, or to be disappointed once you had, because it couldn't possibly live up to it. That's why I go into these things with reasonable expectations. I'm already a fan of Trey Parker and Matt Stone ...
BWW Reviews: HotCity Theatre's Intriguing Production of CONNECTED
CONNECTED, by Lia Romeo, is a fascinating look at the cyber world we live in today and how it directly affects our younger generation. They're growing up in a world where anything that can be captured on video can go viral, for better or worse. Romeo's work plays out in four vignettes, all of which ...
BWW Reviews: Stray Dog Theatre's Riotous Production of PSYCHO BEACH PARTY
Playwright Charles Busch has created a number of entertaining and offbeat works, and PSYCHO BEACH PARTY is no exception. Focusing on the exploits of the Gidget-like 'Chicklet Forrest', the play combines elements that evoke the psychological horrors of Alfred Hitchcock, while also poking fun at teena...
BWW Reviews: The Rep's Exceptional Production of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
Director/Playwright Jon Jory has neatly adapted Jane Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, maintaining the crux of the novel while streamlining it for the stage. It's a compelling and engaging presentation that utilizes a single set to tell its tale, and there are a number of noteworthy performers gracing...
BWW Reviews: The New Jewish Theatre's Engaging and Lively Production of SPEED THE PLOW
I'm a big fan of the works of playwright David Mamet, and with his play, SPEED THE PLOW, he takes aim at the cutthroat world of Hollywood. It's a fascinating look at what sells and what doesn't when you're talking about the big screen. And, it also shows how friendships can be pushed to the brink by...
BWW Reviews: St. Louis Actors' Studio's Provocative THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA?
Playwright Edward Albee has a knack for writing intriguing and provocative works, and THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? certainly fits the bill. It's subject matter is controversial, affecting, and powerful, inviting much conversation and discussion like great theatre should. Full of disconcerting moments...
BWW Reviews: The Fox Theatre's Colorful Production of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Part of my job is to be a critic, so I criticize positively, and sometimes negatively, the shows that I get to see. But part of my job is also to report, and when an audience responds enthusiastically to a show, whether I find fault with it or not, I have to be honest and make mention of that fact. ...
Videos
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Stages St. Louis at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (5/29-6/28) |
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The Light in the Piazza Loretto-Hilton Center (5/30-6/28) |
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God of Carnage New Jewish Theatre (NJT) (6/11-6/28) |
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The Wasp by Morgan Lloyd Malcom Albion Theatre (6/12-6/28) |
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Terms of Endearment Clayton Community Theatre (7/23-8/02) |
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We Will Rock You The Marcelle Theater (6/04-6/27) |
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Motown Magic Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (6/19-6/19) |
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Jake’s Leg - June 27, 7:30pm The Wildey (6/27-6/27) |
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The SpongeBob Musical Chesterfield Community Theater (6/19-6/20) |
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Harmony STL Presents: Now Playing -- The Hits That Shaped Our Generations! Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center (6/13-6/13) |
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